If One Were to Change the World
by Hamako14
Summary: Zoe wishes that she could change the Death Note plot line, but her wish becomes reality as she's thrown into the Death Note world. Having a connection with her friend in the real world, they try to change the story for the better. OC/L Beware: Spoilers!
1. Chapter One: Thrown Into A New World

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I've written anything. I had some really weird inspiration to write this story, so I won't share how I got it. lol. This story has a different writting style than my other stories (well, at least I think so) so I hope you enjoy it!

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

Chapter One

'_Thus concludes this story of the DEATH NOTE._'

Zoe sighed and closed the last volume of _Death Note_, one of her favorite (non-romantic) manga. Running her hands through her short hair, she rolled over on her bed, dropping the volume on the nightstand. She focused on her friend Miranda who sat on a futon across the room.

Sighing again, she spoke to her friend. "Have you ever wished you could change the plot of a manga?"

Miranda looked up from her _Shojo Beat_ magazine, "Frequently. Why? Which one did you want to change?"

"Death Note."

"I can see why you would want to change that one. I don't think L should have died and been replaced with Near and Mello. And I didn't like what happened with Light's family or some of the stuff with…uh… model girl. I forgot her name." Miranda went back to her magazine, not caring for the forgotten name.

A soft chuckle escaped Zoe's mouth, "Its Misa." A short silence filled the room before a light growling sound filled the room. Zoe tried stifling her laugh, "Pfft! Do you have a beast in your stomach?"

Miranda couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah. I'm gonna grab the cookie cake and bring it up here."

"Good, I'm a little hungry too."

---

A strong gust of wind rustled the curtains of the open window, attempting to wake Miranda from her sleep. She only grunted and twisted her body deeper into the covers, away from the draft. She fell asleep almost instantly, unaware of an empty bed across from her.

---

Steady beeping was the first sound that Zoe heard as she regained conscious from her sleep. Her breathes of air seemed to be forced through her nose and into hers lungs. The discomfort caused her to twitch her nose as she lay on the bed, '_Why does it feel like I have a mask on?_' Zoe went to grab whatever was on her face, but a sharp pain caused her arm to cease and eyes to snap open. Groaning in agony, her eyes were unexpectedly blinded by possibly the brightest lights that they ever encountered. As a reflex, her eyes snapped shut. The once consistent beeps became irregular. Opening her eyes for a second time, Zoe managed to squint her way past the light to attempt to find out what was wrong with her arm.

Looking down at the arm she attempted to use earlier, only to find an IV attached to her wrist. '_What the hell…?_' The beeping sound accelerated as Zoe became alarmed. Picking up her unrestricted arm, she felt her face, '_Oxygen mask?_' Her hand traveled up to her hair, coming in contact with a rough material that was wrapped around her head. '_Bandages?!_' That hit the panic button.

"Mir…Miranda…?" Fear laced into her voice. Swiftly sitting up and throwing the sheets off her, she swung her legs off to the side of the bed. Zoe looked around the room, "Miranda?" She hit the peak of desperation. "Miranda!!!"

---

"Zoe?" Miranda's head shot up from her _Shojo Beat_ magazine that she was reading last night. '_Weird. I swore I heard Zoe calling for me._' She glanced over at the alarm clock. '_Maybe I should call her. She wasn't here when I got up. Her cell phone and purse are gone but the car's still here. I should call her…_'

---

With a pillow stuff in her mouth and her arm as relaxed as it could be, Zoe took a deep breath through her nose, the oxygen mask had been thrown aside awhile ago. She took one last inhale before pulling the IV from her arm. Her eyes and jaw clenched shut in pain as she let out a groan of pain. Letting the pillow drop from her mouth, she found bandages on the side table.

'_Fuck._' She grunted as she wrapped up her now tender wrist. '_Now that I'm detached from everything, I can finally get out of here._' But before she could move a finger, a voice cut through the silent room. Zoe froze from shock, thinking that she had been caught by a nurse or doctor.

"Feel it, breathe it, believe it and

You'll be walking on air.

Go try, go fly so high and

You'll be walking on air.

You feel this, unless you kill it

Go on and you're forgiven.

I knew, that I could feel that

I feel like I'm walking on air…"

Zoe let out a breath of air realizing it was only music and not a staff member. As the verse played itself over again, she realized something, '_That's a ringtone!_' Listening to the sound, she tracked down where it was coming from. Opening a closet door, Zoe gazed upon her purse and a pair of black sweatpants, gray T-shirt, sandals and her undergarments.

Completely baffled, Zoe quickly plucked the phone from her purse and answered it without looking at the caller ID. "…hello?"

"**Zoe?**"

"Miranda?"

"**Yeah. Where are you?**"

"You mean you don't know where I am?" Zoe's thoughts began to race. '_If Mira doesn't know where I am then… what the hell happened to me?!_'

"**Of course I don't! You were gone when I woke up this morning.**"

"Shit… Hang on and let me change into some clothes." Quickly putting down the phone, Zoe threw off the hospital gown and put on the clothes that had been with her purse. She picked up her cell phone once she finished changing. "You still there?"

"**Yeah.**"

"Alright, I'll tell you straight up. I don't know where the fuck I am. All I remember is falling asleep in bed and the next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital bed."

"**Are you alright?**" Miranda asked; worry was laced in her voice.

"Yeah, don't worry. I have bandages on but not injuries, so I don't know why I'm here. I feel perfectly fine."

"**Have you run into any of the nurses or doctors?**"

"No. No one has entered this room when I was conscious."

"**Have you been outside of the room?**"

"Not yet."

"**Well, go out into the hallway and see if you can find a nurse or doctor to see what the hell's going on**."

"Alright," Zoe said uneasily. "Will you stay on the phone with me?"

"**Of course.**"

Grabbing her purse with her cell phone still pressed to her ear, Zoe left the hospital room. She shut the door quietly behind her before she took a look into the hallway. Looking from left to right, she frowned, "There's no one in the hallway."

"**You're kidding.**"

"No. It seriously feels like I'm in a horror movie."

"**Well, move on to the next hallway.**"

Turning to her left, Zoe walked down the seemingly endless hallway, looking left and right for a nurse or doctor. The sound of a tray clattering to the floor caused Zoe to turn around to the source. There stood an Asian nurse clad in her white uniform, the tray of food she had been carrying lay in a mess on the floor.

"おい!" The nurse yelled, quickly making her way to Zoe.

"What the…" Without another word or thought, Zoe turned back around and broke out into a run as her survival instincts came over her.

"右がストップ!"

"**What's going on?**" Miranda inquired.

"There's some crazy oriental nurse chasing me!!"

"**What?!**"

"She freaking came out of nowhere! And now she's chasing me!"

"**Well shit.**"

Zoe quickly took a right, running down another hallway before running through another one on her left. The sounds of the nurses shoes and yells were following her steadily. "I'm not losing her!" Zoe gasped out.

"**Run faster!**"

"That's easier said than done!"

As Zoe turned down another hallway, she slipped on the bottom of her sweatpants. With a shriek of terror, she fell down to the ground, hitting her elbow hard against it causing her cell phone to fly out of her hand. It skidded on the tile floor before coming to a stop in front of two sets of tennis shoes.

Groaning in pain, Zoe sat up clutching her stinging elbow. She quickly looked around and noticed her phone on the floor several feet in front of her. But as she scrambled to reach it, a hand reached down and pulled it off the floor using the pointer finger and thumb. Following the feet of the two standing in front of her, she looked up into the faces of two Asian men. The one on the right had smooth brown hair and brown eyes that widened, but then quickly narrowed into a glare, as he looked at her. The one on the left, who had picked up her phone, had messy black hair and dark eyes. He stared at her with unwavering eyes that seemed to calculate her. Zoe shivered involuntarily under his steady gaze. After what seemed like an eternity, the slouched man awkwardly smiled at her, still holding her phone in his fingers.

"私が私たちといっしょにする必要があります," he said, smile still intact.

Zoe was at a loss of words as she realized the two men in front of her were the two famous characters of the manga _Death Note_; Light Yagami and Dectective L.

* * *

There you have it. Chapter One.

Just to let you know, I'm almost positive that the japanese figures in this story don't make sense since I just put them through a translator. So please don't give me crap for that (I've never taken Japanese so I don't know if it's right or not).

Oh! And Zoe's not supposed to understand what the Nurse and L are saying so please keep that in mind.


	2. Chapter Two: The Unknown Incident

Woo! I finally got this written. Sorry it took a while, but I kept getting distracted by things... Although I know what I wanted to write, it was kind of hard to actually get it down. So please enjoy this chapter!!

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

After a couple seconds staring, Zoe comprehended that the man she recognized as L had spoken to her. "..w..wha?" she responded patheticly.

Realization washed over the detective's face, "Ah. You speak English." It was more of a statement then a question. Zoe merely nodded her head. After a moment of awkward silence, L spoke again, "I need you to come with me."

Zoe's expression immediately changed into a frown. "What? Why?" L just looked at her before he turned to Light.

"どうかあなたの父親を訪問することなく矢上くん、僕は彼女を取り戻すつもりだ事情聴取される." Light nodded at L, but shot Zoe one last fierce look before walking off.

'_What the hell's his problem?_' Zoe wondered as she gazed at his retreating back. '_He's a lot more malicious than what I remember reading. And to think I used to like him… Asshole…_' She continued to stare after Light until she remembered she was still sitting on the floor and L was still beside her. Looking back at L, Zoe noticed he was watching her, which she found completely unnerving. She fidgeted under his gaze, "What?"

Before the detective could respond, the crazy Asian nurse finally caught up. Her voice was faint with exhaustion, "すみませんミスギター彼女の部屋に戻る必要がある。" It seemed to Zoe that she was talking more to L than her.

"私がここにいる彼女を確認してください," L responded, his eyes fixated on the nurse.

The nurse gawked at him, "しかし- " He seemed to counter the hesitant nurse by taking out some kind of form and showing it to her. With a frustrated face, the nurse bowed and left in the direction she ran from.

All Zoe could do was stare. '_If I knew this was going to happen, I would've taken Japanese my first semester at college._'

Finally having the decency to get off the floor, Zoe turned to L. "Why do I need to come with you?" she asked a second time.

"Miss…" L set his unblinking gaze back on her.

"…Zoe."

"Miss Zoe, that's not something we can talk about here."

"Can I at least have my phone back?" she asked, wanting some self-assurance in the unknown world. Hoping he would give it to her, she held out her hand with a pleading look. L thought for a moment before he placed her phone into her hand. A look of relief washed over Zoe's features as she clutched the phone tightly. '_Wait…_' She took a quick look at her phone and scowled. '_Damn. When I dropped my phone, it hung up on Miranda._' She sighed before looking up, "Alright, where are we going?"

---

Miranda looked at her phone, concern covering her features. '_Shit. Did they get ahold of her? I swear if anything happens to her, I might kill someone…_' Dialing Zoe's number again, all she received was a busy dial tone. "Fuck…"

---

During the car ride, L held his thumb to his lip and Zoe continuously looked at her phone hoping her friend would call her back. After an hour or so of driving in circles (and no phone call back), Zoe found herself in a Five-Star hotel. She sat at a table across from L, a TV set up on the side. Staring in L's general direction, she realized something. '_I should probably ask him who he is since I'm technically not supposed to know who he is._' Zoe focused on L who was, not surprisingly, watching her. "Who the hell are you?" She blurted out.

"Call me Ryuzaki," he stated blandly, his hands resting on his knees in his usual awkward sitting position.

Zoe's eye twitched, '_Well, I guess it should be expected from L. Maybe I shouldn't have given him my real name… oh well._' "Okay, Ry… Ryuzaki. Why am I here?"

"Three weeks ago at the Shinjaku Subway Station, an FBI member by the name of Raye Penber was killed at 4:45pm by Kira, a mass murderer that can kill with only a face and name. On the surveillance cameras of the station, you were taped running to Raye in his last few moments…"

Zoe looked like a deer in headlights as L continued his speech about Raye and Kira, which in the end turned into a soliloquy. '_What? Three weeks ago I was with Raye in a station here? In Japan? That's not possible. Three weeks ago, I was still at Purdue!_' She interrupted L. "Are you sure it was three weeks ago? Cause I'm pretty sure I was still in school. Can I watch the tapes?"

"Sure," L said, taking out the remote control and turning on the TV. Using a laptop behind him, he pulled up a file that contained the surveillance tape of December 27. Zoe watched the TV intently, a look of shock contorting her face.

On the film, she watched as Raye Penber collapsed as he exited the subway. As he had turned back to look at who was on the train, Zoe watched as a person who looked identical to her run up to the man lying on the concrete. The person seemed to try and help the person but the victim said something that caused them to quickly look onto the closing train doors. The screen froze

"Shit. That really is me…" Zoe mumbled. "But ehl — Ry…Ryuzaki" '_Damn, almost called him L_' "I was at my house yesterday with my friend. I don't understand why I'm in that video. I don't remember that at all."

L held a blank stare as he brought his thumb to his lips. "Do you know what you were in the hospital for?"

"No idea." L gazed at Zoe before walking getting up and walking into another room.

Zoe slouched down into the chair and rubbed her forehead. '_Seriously, what's going on? And where the hell did he go?_' The sound of her ring tone pierced the silence. Zoe scrambled to answer it, "Miranda?"

"**Zoe! Are you okay? What the fuck happened? I've been trying to call you for an hour!**" Miranda practically yelled into the phone.

"I'm fine, but do me a favor and look in my _Death Note_ books."

Her friend paused. "**...why?**"

"Because I'm in a hotel with L and apparently I was present when the FBI member Raye Penber was killed."

"**That's ridiculous!**"

"Are you going to look at the book or what?"

"**Yeah yeah, I'm going.**"

---

Miranada tousled the bedroom looking for _Death Note_ as she stayed on the phone with her companion. '_I don't understand why she wants me to look at those books. What do they have to do with anything?_'

Finally finding the volumes on the bedside table, Miranda picked up the first book. "Okay, what now?"

"**Try looking into the second volume. I think that's the one where it had Raye's death,**" Zoe said over the line.

Miranda shook her head in disbelief, but picked up the second volume and scanned it. As she flipped through the pages, she immediately stopped on page 166. A violent shiver ran down her spine as her eyes widened at the sight of the page. On the top panel of the page, there was a TV screen that had the FBI detective lying on the ground with her friend squatting next to him, trying to help him in any way she could.

"What the fuck…?"

* * *

Although it might not be as describtive as the first one, I hope it was just as good. I'm very happy for all the comments! It really made my day. So thank you and I hope you've liked this one too! And I'm still not sure about the japanese in here. I used a translator (again), so if it's wrong, please don't give me crap for it.

Also keep in mind that Zoe's missing memory is not to be remembered. I promise next chapter will give more of a reason why.


	3. Chapter Three: The Spoiler of the Future

This chapter came out kinda quick, which can be a good thing. I was kinda on a roll after writing chapter 2 (because it was a little bland). So here's a little 'spice' to the story. I hope you enjoy it!!

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

"Why the fuck are you in _Death Note_?!" Miranda exclaimed over the phone.

"**Don't ask me!! I only remember falling asleep in my bed and then waking up in a hospital bed instead of my own. I don't understand how I got here!!**" Zoe responded back.

"Shit…Let me check and see if there's a hint in the manga."

"**Please do, I personally don't like being in a place where I can't understand what people are saying. But hurry up though; I don't know how long L's going to be gone.**"

She quickly picked up volume one, and skimmed it, '_She's not anywhere in this volume._' Picking up volume two, she paid close attention to the earlier pages in the book. '_In the flash back with Raye before he died, it shows Zoe in the last few clips and she's in the surveillance video, but it doesn't show where she came from…_'

"…did this happen this morning?" Miranda asked as she continued to flip through the pages.

"**No. Raye was killed three weeks ago.**"

"Three weeks ago? Are you serious?"

"**Completely.**"

"If that happened three weeks ago and you disappeared last night… then that means…" she paused in thought. "That means either around every six weeks your time is a whole day here OR you're stuck in _Death Note_ time which skips a lot in the manga," she concluded.

"…" The line went silent.

"Zoe?"

"**So I'm officially in the manga, huh.**"

"..Yeah. You are…"

"**If you can read me in the manga, then does that mean you can watch me in the anime?**" Zoe's voiced sounded thoughtful over the line.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Miranda barked.

"**It was just a question! I'm sorry.**" Another pause. "**Wait, does that mean—**"

"This better not be a ridiculous question otherwise I will hit you."

"**It's not and like you could, we're in two different worlds. As I was saying, if I'm in the book, does that mean you can see everything that had happened and will happen?**"

Miranda quickly flipped toward the back of the book. Her eyebrows rose in astonishment as she read some of the scenes that would happen after they got off the phone with each other. "Yeah. I actually can. But if you're now in the plot line, then won't that affect the entire story line?"

"…**it probably would… which means I can bend the story to my liking, can't I?**" Zoe concluded.

"I'm actually not sure. I haven't read _Death Note_ in so long, but it just seems like you're an added character to the story. I won't know unless you attempt to change the story."

"**I wonder what I should do…**"

Miranda flipped towards the back of the book. "I'll help you figure something out later since L's coming back into the room. And he's got cake with him."

"**Wha--?**"

"Don't worry! I'll call you when you're alone again!" And with that, Miranda hung up the phone. Looking down at the book, she couldn't help but laugh as she read the insults Zoe was thinking in her head as she placed the phone into her pants. "This is definitely going to be fun reading her thoughts," Miranda chuckled as she began reading the new version of _Death Note_.

---

'_Damn her,_' Zoe thought, pocketing her phone, '_I know she's going to get a big head just because she can read into the future of this world. That punkass bitch._'

Silence filled the room as Zoe waited impatiently for L to return. After a minute or so, the detective shuffled back in, a plate of strawberry cake and a file in his hands. He sat back down into his usual sitting position.

'_She just had to mention the cake didn't she…_' Zoe thought with irritation. She watched as L scooted the file so it was in front of her. "This is…"

"Your hospital notes," L finished for her. "You have amnesia. It was caused from an accident you got into that happened a couple minutes after the scene we just watched. Pedestrians had crowded too much and had forced you off the platform of the station. You hit your head on the track and unfortunately lost your consciousness as well as memory. There's an 11% to 33% chance that you'll get your memory back of the day three weeks ago back." He paused as he took a bite of his cake. "If my suspicions are correct, on the day you lost your memory, you had also seen Kira's face. Thankfully Kira doesn't know your name, but he knows your face so we're going to have to put you into special care so Kira won't find you and for the chance that you can remember the face of the killer."

Zoe just gaped at L. '_I realize why Light had been glaring at me; he realized I saw his face the day he killed Raye,_' she thought to herself. '_But I just don't understand why I still know that he's Kira. Why would my memory erase that day? Is this supposed to be part of the new plot?_'

"Wait…" Zoe was trying to pick out questions that wouldn't give out any information she had about the _Death Note_ series. "Who is 'we'? And why would I need to be put in special care?"

L took a finishing bite of his strawberry cake before he answered the questions. "'We' pertains to the members of the investigation task force that have dedicated themselves to capture of Kira. And you need to be put into special care because Kira's likely to try and find out you since when I tried to find out who you were, no file had come up anywhere on the internet, so you'll be safe staying with the task force members."

"…So I'm staying in this hotel?" L just nodded his head as he placed down his fork. "…great…"

---

Miranda sat on Zoe's bed, reading ahead of where Zoe was at. A little bit of fear glistened in her eyes as she was in the middle of volume 7. '_Shit! With the way things are going now, Zoe's going to be killed! We need to figure out how to change this plot, and fast!_'

* * *

And thus concludes chapter three. Please stand by for the agonizing wait for chapter four (not really though).


	4. Chapter Four: Sakura TV Event

I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRRY that this took me so long to get out. I didn't really plan on it coming out this late, but here it is. I promise I won't take AS long for the next chapter, but I can't say I'll be out within the next couple of days. Maybe this weekend since I've already got quite a bit of chapter 5 going. But yeah, I've got a shit ton of homework that I should've been doing but I decided I owe you dudes much more. So please enjoy it.... well, at least try to enjoy it if it sucks.

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

Chapter Four

Three days passed since the last time Zoe talked to Miranda. Her phone was confiscated and was placed on the side table at the front door by the one and only L. Pretty upset about the whole ordeal, Zoe confined herself to her room, only coming out for food. But being deprived of the cell phone gave Zoe a _slight_ motivation to learn Japanese over the days.

"Ugh, self learning a language is definitely not ideal," Zoe mumbled as she rubbed her face, trying to rid the exhaustion that was coming on to her. '_I need some caffeine._' Putting down her Japanese 101 book, she rolled to the edge of the bed and made her way through the bedroom door. As she moved toward the kitchen, she passed the entry way to the living room. She noticed L, and who she recalls as Matsuda, Ukita and Aizawa from _Death Note_, sitting around the coffee table. '_I wonder what they're talking about… and why does this feel like déjà vu?_' She shrugged the thought as she made it to the kitchen. Making a quick bee-line for the refrigerator, she immediately opened it. Her eyes flickered with joy as she came face to bottle with her addition; Diet Coke. Listening to the pressure be released when she loosened the cap only made her crave it more. She made her way back down the hallway, taking a long refreshing gulp of diet coke along the way. But commotion in the living room made her stop on her trek back to her room.

Watari, who had stormed into the room, held the remote to the TV as the four other men's eyes were glued to the news channel in front of them.

"_Kira_ が人質?" Aizawa cried out.

At the name of Kira, realization of where she was in the plot line of _Death Note_ finally caught up to her. Zoe covered her mouth as she suddenly started to spew out the diet coke she was trying to drink. '_Fuck! I'm already at the part of the second Kira?! I thought I had more time than this! What's his face is going to die today! I would've know this if I had my fuckin' phone!!! I can't allow anyone on the force to die!_' Thoughts of fear, anger and confusion swarmed chaotically through Zoe's head as she dashed down the hallway. Busting into her room, she frantically threw her diet coke on the floor and began rummaging through her dresser drawers looking for anything to cover her face. She jumped as a loud commotion came from the living room.

"我々は彼らが起こるかは、このブロードキャストまたは何か恐ろしい停止させる必要があります!"

"私はさくらテレビの電話番号を取得するよ！"

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK! If only I studied harder at learning Japanese!" Zoe cursed at herself, grapping what she could from the top drawer and off the top of the dresser. Quickly making her way down the hallway, she zipped past the living room and used the kitchen to get to the front door in order to avoid L from seeing her leave. She snatched up her phone on the way out the door and barely caught up to Ukita who was rapidly making his way down the stairs of the hotel. The surroundings soared past Zoe as she pursued Ukita to his car. As she climbed into the front seat of the cop car, Ukita finally noticed her.

"何をやっている！？"he yelled at her, eyes filled with confusion.

" _Me… Go… you!"_ Zoe hollered back in horrible Japanese.

Ukita grunted loudly with frustration as he hit the wheal with anger before speeding off toward Sakura TV.

As they flew through traffic, Zoe looked down at her lap, where the things she hastily grabbed were sitting. She started to search for anything that would help them from being seen by the second Kira. '_Socks, a belt, panty hose, three pieces of underwear, a bra, scarf, a pair of sunglasses and hair brush. What the hell?_' As Ukita watched from his peripheral vision, the socks were thrown in the back seat along with the underwear, belt, and bra, that left Zoe with green wool panty hose, a gray plaid scarf and the sunglasses; one aviator and one with pink lenses. '_He's getting the panty hose pink lens sunglasses cause there is no way I'm going to wear those…_' Zoe thought as she started to wrap the bottom part of her face with the scarf. She turned on her forgotten phone, waiting to get into contact with her. Just before she put her sunglasses on, Ukita slammed on the brakes, causing her to get whip lash from the momentum.

"Oh no you don't!" Zoe declared as she grabbed onto Ukita's jacket before he could open the door.

" 一体何がしたいですか？" he said furiously.

Zoe quickly threw the panty hose over the back of his head, and began to wrap it around him.

"ボキャブラリーファックをやっている？"he roared grabbing at her arms in attempt to stop her.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE YOU FUCKIN' RETARD?! KIRA'S HERE AND YOU'RE GOING TO DIE IF I DON'T DO THIS!!!" Zoe screamed through the scarf, not bothering to attempt to translate into poor Japanese. He didn't respond. "That's what I thought." She finished wrapping by tucking the ends of the panty hose into the bottom of the wrap. She handed him the pink tinted sun glasses and put hers on before getting out of the car.

With such ridiculous get-ups, Ukita and Zoe exited the car like two robbers robbing a bank. Ukita instinctively ran for the doors of the TV station. He tried to pry the doors open with his hands, but failed.

"Dammit、これはロックです！" He growled with frustration.

'_I need something to bash that door in,_' Zoe thought, making her way to the trunk of the cop car. '_Cops are supposed to have tools in the trunk aren't they?_'

Without warning, Zoe's pocket went off loudly.

"Feel it, breathe it, believe it and

You'll be walking on air.

Go try…"

"Wah!!" Zoe yelled from the sudden sound. Quickly recovering from the shock, she picked up her phone. "Hello? Miranda?"

"**Zoe! Thank god I got a hold of you! Why wouldn't you pick up?! And you and Ukita look so ridiculous**," Miranda voice flowed through the phone.

"L took my phone away from me, didn't you read that? And it's not my fault we look ridiculous! I was rushed and had no warning of this event coming so soon! –" Zoe opened the trunk of the car, and began searching for something to break the glass entrance door with.

"What did you expect me to do?!"

"**They didn't have that scene in the book, it just started from where you were in the bed failing at Japanese…**"

"I wasn't failing…" Zoe mumbled, her eyes searching frantically for a crow bar or bat.

"**Zoe, get away from the car.**"

"What?"

"**Get away from the car now!!!**" The urgency and power in Miranda's voice started to scare Zoe.

Zoe stopped searching through the trunk and took a few steps back, "W-why?"

"**BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO E---**"

The car detonated in a loud explosion, and Zoe's last line of vision was a large chunk of shrapnel flying her way.

* * *

There you have it, chapter 4! I promise I won't neglect the next chapter for so long!!!

Just to let you know, I'm almost positive that the japanese figures in this story don't make sense since I just put them through a translator. So please don't give me crap for that (I've never taken Japanese so I don't know if it's right or not).


	5. Chapter Five: Deja Vu

So yeah, Sorry I didn't update last weekend, I truthfully didn't do anything, not even homework. And this week I did nothing but homework and I saw Lady Gaga live; it was completely epic and worth the wait since she was sick the first time the tour came by. But anyway, I managed to squeeze this chapter out for you right before I have to start studying for exams, so I really hope you enjoy it. I can't promise you when I'll be able to update next, but I will work on it little by little, so please do enjoy this chapter.

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

Chapter Five

"_This just in! A car has detonated in front of Sakura TV! Two people were caught in the explosion and it looks like the guard from inside Sakura TV collapsed upon letting in one of the victims. We are reporting live from in front of Sakura TV. For safety reason I cannot stand in front of the camera, but what you are seeing here is live coverage!_" The TV image panned in on the flaming wreckage of the once cop car, the dead security guard and the back of Ukita making his way father into the building.

"UKITA!!" Aizawa yelled out as he watched the TV. Before he could say anything else, the TV screen jolted over to the right of the explosion.

"_A bystander has just collapsed trying to help the second victim!_" The screen zoomed in on the second pair of victims. The middle aged bystander was viewed on the screen, but then zoomed closer on the second car victim. A young girl, in her either in her late teens or early 20's lay, unmoving, among the debris from the explosion.

"Isn't that…?" Matsuda started.

"Watari, check if Zoe is in her room," L demanded as he began to chew on his thumb.

"She's not here," Watari replied after a quick sweep of Zoe's room as well as the rest of the hotel.

"_What's this? The second victim is getting up!_"

---

"Uhn," Zoe let out a pained noise as she came to. She clenched her teeth as she barely opened her eyes. Letting out a grunt she twisted body until she was on her stomach. Her fingers curled against the pavement as she began to get her senses back.

"**…e…..Z…..Zo…..Zoe…..ZOE! ****ZOE, GET UP! PLEASE!** "

"Mi.....anda? Uhn... " With a numb body, Zoe pushed herself to slowly get up. She fully opened her eyes, only to have blink rapidly as a liquid ran over one of her eyes. Wobbling a little bit, she finally made it to her knees and began sliding her hands against the pavement in search of her phone. "Miranda," she called out.

"**Zoe! I'm over here!**"

Zoe's eyes snapped a few feet in front of her. The fire's light from behind her flickered upon the screen of her phone. She crawled through the debris and finally reached her phone, putting it up to her ear.

"**Zoe! Are you alright?!**"

Zoe wiped the liquid away from her eye, and looked down at her crimson stained hand. "I'm going to fucking kill that girl."

---

Miranda sat in her bedroom, as she sat stunned, looking at the third volume of _Death Note_. She stared in awe at the image of her friend as she stood up. The angle of the image came from the ground, giving Zoe the image of power. The wind had picked up and blew the bangs away from her face, showing the gash right above her left eyebrow, bleeding profusely down the side of her face. The sunglasses she once wore were lost and the scarf had fallen loosely around her mouth, the ends fluttering behind her in the wind. Blood was seeping through her shirt and pants, where small pieces of debris from the explosion cut through. The look of vengeance on her face only added to the intensity of the scene. This was the side of Zoe that was not meant to be dealt with.

"**I'm going to fucking kill that girl**," Zoe spoke, her eyes narrowing on the building across the street from Sakura TV. "**How do I get in?**"

"…left side of the building…" Miranda softly spoke, knowing there was no way she could stop her, not that she wanted to.

---

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, making her unable to feel the damage from the explosion done on her body. With a new found burst of energy, Zoe ran past the growing news crowd on the right, ignoring the blabbering coming from them. She quickly made it to the left side of the building across from Sakura TV, where she found the door already open. She threw open the door and sprinted up the stairs.

"Which floor is she on?" Zoe demanded.

Miranda flipped through the pages, "**Third floor; the mid most room. You better hurry though, it doesn't look like she'll be there much longer.**"

Using the railing to help propel her up, Zoe made her way to the 3rd floor. When she reached the platform, she peered through the window of the door leading to the hallway. The hallway looked ominous; the only light was the emergency lighting in the stairwell on the other side.

"Tell me when I reach the middle room." Zoe murmured into the phone.

"**What are you going to do if she's there?**" Miranda asked out of concern. "**She can kill you if she rips off your scarf and you don't have a weapon. I'm mean; really, do you plan on bleeding on her? On top of that, the Shinigami will surely kill you if you harm her in anyway.**"

Zoe let out a grunt of frustration, "I'm not going to _bleed _on her. I'll just…" There was a short pause, "… I'll just…. just...... I'll knock her unconscious with my cell phone, then grab a hold of the Death Note and yell at the Shinigami that if it kills me, I kill her. I'll have the time since it takes 40 or so seconds for the heart attack to begin."

"**…**"

"I'll make it work, so tell me when I get to the room." Without another word, Zoe carefully opened the door enough to slide herself into the hallway without causing a large amount of noise.

She quickly pressed her back up against the right side of the hall, and put her phone down to her side. She slinked down the hallway, waiting to pass a door's entry way just in case she made it to the middle door. A tail of blood drops followed Zoe on the floor while smeared blood followed on the wall.

Zoe stopped in front of the eighth door, before Miranda whispered through the phone, "**This is the room**." Zoe's heart began pounding rapidly in her chest as a second dose of adrenaline pumped through her veins. "**I can't tell if she's in there or not, so be careful**."

"Alright." She wiped off some more blood away from her eye and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and snapping them open with determination a few seconds later. "Let's do this," she muttered to herself.

Taking a quick breath, she grabbed the handle with her bloody hand and flung the door open. The sound of the door hitting the wall echoed through the empty room. Zoe's face dropped as she looked around the empty room and contorted with pain as the adrenaline rush she had pumping through her was gone, taking the numbness with it. Zoe took a few steps into the room before her legs gave out from under her. She leaned herself on the side of the desk next to her, closing her eyes when black spots obstructed her vision. "I can't fuckin' believe this. When the hell did she leave?"

"**I couldn't tell you, but Mr. Yagami had already smashed in the glass front of Sakura TV and L had the blockade up put up in front of the entrance**," Miranda said through the speaker of the phone that was on the ground next to Zoe.

"That's just great," Zoe breathed out, too tired to place the phone by her ear or even open her eyes. "Well, L better find me before I bleed myself to death…"

"**With the blood trail you left behind, someone's bound to find you**."

"Cool… I think I'm going to sleep."

"**Zoe, if you see a light, don't go towards it**."

"I'll do what..I….want….." Zoe's head lulled back against the desk as she drifted off to darkness.

---

Zoe stirred in her sleep as she began to regain consciousness. Air being forced through her nose and into her lungs, as well as steady beeping pulled her completely out of her slumber. '_Why does it feel like I have a mask on and what the hell is that annoying sound? …!_' Zoe's eyes snapped open, only to automatically shut as light blinded her. The beeps became irregular. "God damn déjà vu… at least they found me." She sat up and let her hair fall over her face to shield the light from her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked at the IV in her arm. Picking up her pillow, she placed it into her mouth before taking a hold of the needle. With a grunt, she removed the needle from her arm. She quickly got off the bed, only to find her legs were like jello. "Oop!" Zoe let out a yelp from shock as she stumbled with her pudding legs to the patient closet. She grabbed a hold of the handles of the door to keep from falling. "Stupid legs," she muttered. Once her legs gained strength, she opened the door of the closet, only to find sweat pants and a t-shirt but no phone. "He was here?" Zoe quickly looked around the room. She sighed with relief when she saw no signs of L. "I would be so embarrassed if he saw my ass hanging out of this stupid hospital gown."

After changing quickly, Zoe opened the door of the room and popped her head out into the hallway. She smiled from the emptiness, "I love it when I'm lucky." She walked into the hallway only taking a few steps before she heard something hit the floor behind her. She slowly turned around and saw an Asian nurse who dropped a tray full of food. She was looking from the open door of Zoe's room and Zoe herself. "Uhhh…"

"何やっていると思うんだよ！あなたが離れることができない!" the nurse yelled as she started walking quickly towards her.

Out of instinct, Zoe backed away from the advancing nurse. "I still have no idea what you're saying, so I'm just going to go." She quickly turned around and began walk fast. She turned down another empty hallway and started to sprint. '_Alright! A straight shot to the elevator._' Sliding to a stop on her pants, she pressed the down button on the elevator. Zoe looked behind her to see the nurse that was walking as fast as she could in heels down the hallway. '_Shit._' She turned back and rapidly pressed the button over and over again. "Come on. Come on!"

"停止する権利がある!" the nurse was closing in on her.

"Oh come on!" Zoe cried out with frustration as she looked back and forth between the nurse and the elevator doors. There was a bing sound as the elevator arrived on the door.

"Yes!" As soon as the doors opened, Zoe practically ran into the elevator, only to run into someone's chest with an 'oomph'. She stumbled back a little and looked up into the rather close face of L. "I should've taken the stairs."

* * *

FYI, I'm almost positive that the japanese in this story doesn't make sense since I just put them through a translator. So please don't give me crap for that (I've never taken Japanese so I don't know if it's right or not).

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that the romance hasn't started yet, but come on!~ Love takes some time, lol.


	6. Chapter Six: Zoe's Revelation

I deeply apologize for not updating since... last July. I somehow lost my way across the land of imagination and ended up in the real world. But with the help of my random college credit class called 'Creative Writing', I'm slowly making my way back. I do realize my chapters up to this point has been a lot of action. This one, sadly, isn't really like that. I needed to get deeper into the relationship between Zoe and L, so this is a little different. I hope you guys still enjoy it though! I'll be working on the next chapter probably in two days, so hopefully it'll be ready to post by next weekend. If it's not, I probably drowned in a sea of homework. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and (probably) Cussing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

Chapter Six:

It was two days after the incident at Sakura TV and Zoe found herself sitting in a chair next to her bed, staring at the dresser across the room. L brought her back from the hospital the night before and hadn't said a word to her. Watari helped her back to the room and brought her food when the time came to eat. Sighing, Zoe consciously fingered the bandages around her head from where a chunk of the car had cut her. She was unsure of the events that had played out in front of Sakura TV.

'I want to change L's fate,' Zoe was trying to get her thoughts pulled together. 'I don't want him to die. He didn't deserve to die and Light didn't deserve to live. Light eventually died, yes, but it shouldn't have been that way. I changed the fate of Ukita didn't I? So that means I can change L's fate as well. But how? Miranda said at the rate we're going at, L is going to die, and so will I. I don't understand. I didn't die when my face was seen in front of Sakura TV, why? Didn't two innocent people die by trying to help? So how is it that I'm alive? That shouldn't be possible. Misa had binoculars so she would have been able to see my name above my head. Why did I live?'

Zoe propped her head up with her hand as another problem started to arise.

'Shit… I'm sure L knows I know more than he does,' she thought. 'Will he suspect me as the second Kira, or even the original one? Probably not, but that would make everything harder than it already is. I can't quite tell him he's nothing but some fictional character in some random manga in my world. That would just be stupid. Who the hell would ever believe me?' Zoe paused in thought, pursing her lips. 'What if I told him I had a gut feeling or that I was psychic? …I would feel foolish and look like a complete mental case. What I need to is gain his trust, but that's absurd. What I need him to do is believe in me, not necessarily trust me, because, let's face it; that would be impossible. But I need him to believe me over anything Light would say. Then again, Light is so much more manipulative, not to mention smarter, than I will ever be. So how can I do that? What if…' Zoe trailed off in thought. '…what if I told him something that no one would expect Light to do? Like, when he told L to lock him up after Misa was caught? I don't remember that anyone expected that. But how am I to explain Light's mood change when he tells the Ryuk to get rid of the notebook? Though, if I get L to believe in me, I won't have to explain anything else, right?'

Her eye started to twitch. "This is seriously starting to make my head hurt," she mumbled as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "I really wish he would give me back my phone so I can talk to Miranda to figure this out." Zoe slowly opened her eyes and hoisted herself out of the chair. She stretched for a moment before moving herself to the window on the other side of the bed.

She stood there watching the headlights of cars chase away the shadows that encased the city. Little forms of what she knew to be people walked underneath the street lamps, hurrying to their destinations, afraid of what lurked behind every dark alley. She crossed her arms and slumped against the window. The coldness that radiated through the glass soothed and numbed her throbbing head. She zoned out as she continued to watch the foreign city with vacant eyes. Her brain didn't register the sound of her door as the handle turned, nor did it register the sound of it closing.

Five or so minutes went by before she noticed the reflection in the window. The man slouched in his loose t-shirt, his hands shoved into his pants pockets. His disheveled hair blocked the light from his expression, but Zoe could guess which kind of look he was giving her. It was the one he put on whenever he tested Light's reasoning.

"Do you think I'm Kira?" Zoe asked straightening her posture against the glass. She didn't turn towards him, but instead, continued to watch him through the window.

L's face remained the same as he took a minute to answer, "No."

"Do you think I'm the second Kira?"

L cocked his head to the side, shifting his disorderly hair. His eyebrows rose slightly. "Why would you believe there is a second Kira?" he questioned, trying to probe at her knowledge.

She exhaled, a weak smile playing on her lips. After a moment of thought, she looked past his reflection; back out to the twinkling lights of the city. Her smile faded away. "Who knows…" Zoe couldn't finish. As badly as she wanted to blurt out the truth about Light, she knew she would have to explain her situation as well. And that was out of the question. Silence filled the room as she could feel L watching her through the reflection in the window, as she had been watching him.

It seemed like hours before L spoke up. "I'm 100% sure you're not the second Kira."

Zoe tore her gaze from the city to look at L. "Wha—Real—" She stumbled through her words, "Why?"

"Your fingers leave a bigger fingerprint than the one that was on the envelope and video tape," he said bluntly.

"Ha! Who knew my fingers were chubby," she claimed, sincerely smiling at him as relief washed over her. "I'm glad." He watched her face intently, seemingly in thought. Pushing herself off the window, she took a couple steps toward L. "Ryuzaki, did you notice a difference between the original Kira and the second Kira?" she cautiously asked.

L's large eyes narrowed slightly. "Everything the second Kira has done is unlike the first. His actions directly conflict the actions of the real Kira. He killed innocent workers and policemen in the Public's eyes. The first Kira would never use scare tactics that look more like terrorism." He paused in thought. "There is also a slight possibility second Kira can kill under different criteria than the first."

'Should've known he would still come to the same conclusion,' Zoe thought, stifling a yawn that was trying to escape.

"You need to sleep," L stated, noticing the yawn. "We're having a meeting tomorrow to discuss the evidence we obtained from Sakura TV." Zoe gave him a nod of acknowledgement before making her way to the dresser get pajamas. L turned around and proceeded to leave the room.

Zoe stared into the drawer she had opened. 'I should give him a small hint. What did I do that might throw off what he should already know?' she thought, frowning. '…oh…Oh!'

Zoe quickly scrambled to the door, catching it a foot before L closed it. "Ryuzaki!" She said rather loudly.

"Yes Miss Zoe?"

Zoe was startled to find him right outside her door, his hand just releasing the door handle. The smell of vanilla, strawberries, and sugar from the sweets he had eaten captivated her senses. She had never smelled anything more overwhelmingly pleasant in her entire life. Not even when she made cake or cookies. She stared up at him as his gaze bore into hers. Realizing that she was blatantly staring at him and their proximity to each other, Zoe flushed slightly and quickly shifted her weight from embarrassment.

"Just in case you didn't fully believe this, the second Kira's able to kill without knowing one's name. I noticed the bystanders who tried to help at Sakura TV ended up dying as soon as they stepped out. Which actually means that I should be dead too, but that's not the point." Zoe quickly stated.

"How did you figure this out?" He pressed for an answer.

Zoe cleared her face of any emotion, and stared blankly up at him. "I'm psychic," she said seriously. She could see it in his eyes that she threw him off. "Good night Ryuzaki," she said hastily, closing and locking the door and he just stood there staring.

After a moment, she heard a mumbled 'Good night Zoe' before the sound of dragging feet on the carpet disappeared.

"… I don't remember him being that attractive in the books," Zoe flushed; the smell of vanilla, strawberries, and sugar still lingering around her room.


	7. Chapter Seven: Mad Libs

Well, I kinda kept my promise. I had this chapter ready last night but I didn't feel like posting it just quite yet. But here it is! Yay for getting it done, although it took me two times to go through before I was actually happy with it. So I hope you all enjoy it!

Also! It may be two weeks until I'll be able to post the next chapter. I've got exams coming up in the next two weeks, so I'm going to be fairly distracted.

And! If you want to follow the scene of the mad libs, it's Chapter 26, page 12, but you don't have to. It just happens to be where I based the reactions off of.

BEWARE- This contains Spoilers and Cussing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I own Zoe and Miranda.

* * *

Chapter 7:

Zoe opened the door to her room and slowly made her way done the hallway. A couple minutes earlier, she heard some commotion going on in the living room and felt the urge to investigate.

'Everyone's probably here,' Zoe thought to herself, stifling a yawn with her hand. She stopped at the end of the hallway, seeing the backs of the detectives. She leaned up against the corner of the entryway, noticing there was one more person sitting in front of the TV. As soon as she saw the hair, Zoe instantly knew it was Light.

'What part am I at?' Zoe wondered to herself. They seemed pretty intent on the task at hand, listening to a distorted voice flowing over the speakers. Still not being able to understand Japanese, Zoe decided to mad-lib the scene playing out before her.

L moved closer to him. 'Have you figured out anything from watching this?' L asked him, putting his finger up to his lips.

Light looked up at him from his seat. '…Yes Ryuzaki, I did. I've learned that I'm gay,' his answer caught L's attention.

'You're gay?' His father shouted with shock, looking somewhat proud.

A chorus of murmurs came from Matsuda, Aizawa, and Ukita, 'I can't believe Light's gay', 'Who knew', 'I did…'.

'The deep, seducing voice did me in,' Light continued, 'It became hypnotizing as it continuously whispered sweet nothings into my ear. It sent this sensual thrill down my back and gave me goose bumps. It really makes me want to take my pants off.' Zoe tried to contain herself but failed miserably as a small chuckle squeezed past her tightened lips.

L twisted around and spotted her form in the entry way. His face shown slight curiosity from the snicker that escaped from her, "Ah, Miss Zoe, did we wake you up?" This drew the attention of the others in the room to her.

"It was about time I got up anyway," she answered with a shrug. Movement behind L caused Zoe's eyes to stray and connect with Light. She could tell he was thinking something, but what it was she didn't know.

"How is your head feeling?" Light asked seemingly concerned. Hearing the charming undertone of his voice bewildered her. This was the first time he had said anything to her since she arrived in Tokyo.

"… It's fine?" she was confused by his intentions.

"That's good." There was just something about his smile that made Zoe shift slightly to hide her discomfort. They continued to have a stare off before L decided to break the growing tension between them. He spoke to mainly to Light but surprised everyone in the room. Light hid his eyes behind his bangs, but Zoe knew his mind was working over time. L continued to speak, most likely giving out orders since everyone said either 'Ok' or 'Understood' when he was finished.

* * *

'How in the hell did I get roped into this?' Zoe grumbled to herself. After airing the pretend tapes from Kira himself, the second Kira responded back, giving more information and a schedule of the month to come. Zoe got dragged into participating when Light suggested she would fit in nicely alongside his college friends. Of course L didn't mind since Zoe was another pair of eyes for him. And it's not like she could say no to him when he was allowing her to stay with him.

She glared at Light from the back seat of the car, secretly wishing his head would explode. Sadly, it didn't. But thankfully, L was kind enough to give Zoe's phone back for the day. And she thought up a clever way to keep her phone too.

She jolted forward as the car came to a halt in a parking space, near the outdoor strip mall. Zoe, Matsuda, and Light got out of the car and headed toward the meet up place with Light's so called 'friends'. They were more like acquaintances in Zoe's mind.

"May I call you Zoe?" Light spoke in English, catching her off guard.

Zoe turned her head up toward him and shrugged, "That's fine." His question didn't stop there.

"What are you doing here in Japan?" he pressed, "Where are you originally from?"

"I'm just visiting from America," she said shortly.

"Do you go to college?"

"Yes."

"What year are you?"

"Senior."

"How old are you?" Light looked surprised at the last detail.

"21," Zoe answered hoping the game of 21 questions would end soon. She wasn't comfortable with the fact that Light was 'trying' to get to know her. As he gains more information on someone and dissects their personality, he tends to become more sinister. At least that's her opinion from what she gathered from the manga.

"Ah, there they are," Light said to Zoe as they neared a group of people, before switching back to Japanese and probably telling Mastuda the same thing. Light introduced his friends to Matsuda and Zoe and vice versa. Zoe didn't bother trying to befriend them since she couldn't understand them. As soon as the group started to move, she fell behind slightly, giving herself some space so she would be able to talk on the phone without being over heard. When she put enough space between them without having anyone notice, Zoe took out her phone. 'Time to give my old friend a call,' Zoe thought, pressing the call button on Miranda's name.

* * *

"Zoe!" Miranda exclaimed happily into her phone. She hadn't been in contact with her friend since fiasco at Sakura TV. "How're you holding up?"

"**Okay I guess**," Zoe's voice echoed over the phone. "**I've been able to entertain myself a little, but now I'm stuck on a shopping trip with Light and his groupies.**"

"I've noticed," Miranda commented, flipping through the fourth volume of _Death Note_. "Although I'm not sure mad-libbing is the best entertainment, it was quite hilarious to read. It fit everyone's reaction down to a T." She heard her friend's laughter over the phone.

"**I thought so too. Hey, can you help me find out where the nearest cell phone store is?**"

"So you can try and trick L by giving him a duplicate phone so you can keep yours?"

"… **How did you know?**"

"I can read your thoughts," Miranda said bluntly. She flipped two pages ahead of the scene Zoe was talking to her. "You'll find a store on your left. There'll be a dancing phone outside the storefront."

"**Seriously? That's a little obvious. But it works.**" There was a pause. "**What's the chance of Light noticing that I left the group?**"

Miranda flipped back a page and started skimming through the text. "Well, Ryuk will notice –" A muttered 'Shit' crackled over the phone. "—But he won't tell Light. He believes you'll…" Miranda hesitated. "Basically he thinks you'll make things more interesting."

Zoe sighed on the other end, "**As much as I'm disturbed by that, I somehow don't doubt that.**"

"…I already know something interesting," Miranda said coyly. She saw Zoe's eyes narrow in the scene with their conversation bubbled around her head.

"**And **_**what **_**might that be?**"

"Well," she drawled out, "As I recall from the end of volume three, someone got a little fluster by –"

"**Goodbye Miranda,**" Zoe hastily cut her off. "**I need to buy my new phone.**"

Miranda couldn't help but crack up. "You liar! You just bought it two scenes ago!" She heard Zoe grumble about something on the other line. "Haha, alright, I'll leave you alone. Don't wait so long to call me next time."

"**Yeah yeah.**"

* * *

Zoe placed her phone in her pocket and then took out the duplicate she bought into the other one before throwing away the bag. Sighing, she embarked on the journey to find the group she left behind. As she was nearing the cafe _Note Blue_, Zoe felt an uncontrollable shiver run down her back. And it wasn't the good kind. It was the one that brought dread into one's mind. Her eyes started darting through her surroundings, trying to find the source that caused her discomfort. She found it. Her eyes connected with ones hidden behind false black glasses which were framed by a short bob hairstyle. Time seemed to slow down as Zoe passed by the school girl, her breath catching in her throat. She quickly tore her gaze from the girl, hurrying off in the direction she believed the group would be.

* * *

Matsuda dropped Zoe off back at the hotel. As she made her way back to the room, Zoe was on autopilot, letting her legs haul her back.

'As much as I find Misa annoying, she can be intimidating when she has those 'eyes',' she thought. 'An idiot like her having that kind of power is unnerving itself. I should just be happy that I'm alive even after encountering her in person. But being alive after the second encounter means that my name isn't appearing above my head, right? Damn, I should've asked Miranda about that earlier. I'll have to wait until the next chance I get…'

Zoe didn't notice she was already in front of the door. She hesitated before knocking on the door. Watari greeted her with a warm smile and stepped aside to let her in. Muttering 'thanks' Zoe kicked off her shoes and placed the duplicate phone on the table by the entrance. She was really hoping L wouldn't say anything to her or acknowledge her presence; she didn't feel like recalling today's events just yet.

She quietly crept to the living room, noticing he was sitting in front of the computer. She walked along the far wall trying to keep distance between the two of them. It unfortunately didn't work.

"Ah, Miss Zoe," L said, greeting her from his awkward chair position but not facing her.

"Ryuzaki," she acknowledged him, hoping for a short chat.

"Is something the matter?" he inquired, his back still facing her. When she hesitated to answer, he turned towards her. His eyes watched her thoroughly as she bowed her head and contemplated on how to avoid the question. "Miss Zoe?" he called out to her. When he noticed she was too far gone in thought, he stood up and made his way towards her. Soon enough, he stood in front of her. He brought his face down towards hers, "Miss Zoe."

Zoe abruptly came out of her thoughts. L's voice was much closer than it was at the beginning. She snapped her head up when the strong smell of sugar infiltrated her senses. That's when she realized he was roughly a foot away from her. Her throat tightened, hitching her breath. "What's wrong?" he asked her, observing her as he waited for an answer.

She quickly averted her eyes away from his before replying, "Nothing really, I'm just extremely worn out." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. L stood there staring at Zoe as if waiting for something. It was starting to make her feel as if she were on trial. When she continued to not make eye contact with him, he gave in.

"Get some rest, Miss Zoe. We'll discuss this matter later," he stated moving back to his chair.

She was relieved to be free for the night. Her nerves were starting to fray and the best cure for that was sleep.


End file.
